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Referendum failures help ease Taiwan-U.S. tensions: VP Lu

ROC Central News Agency

2008-01-29 13:49:00

    Majuro, Marshall Islands, Jan. 29 (CNA) The failure of the two latest referendums held by Taiwan should have eased Taiwan-U.S. tensions triggered by their differences over the referendum issue, ROC Vice President Annette Lu said Tuesday.

    Lu asserted that China placed the United States under great pressure late last year by denying safe harbor to two American minesweepers in Hong Kong and rejecting a planned Hong Kong visit by the U.S. supercarrier Kitty Hawk in November.

    That forced Washington, she said, to step up pressure on Taipei to scrap its plan to hold a referendum alongside the March 22 presidential election on joining the United Nations under the name "Taiwan."

    Washington was able to breath a sigh of relief, however, when two other referendums held alongside the Jan. 12 legislative elections were failed to pass because the turnout rates did not reach the required 50 percent threshold, Lu contended.

    She urged the ruling and opposition parties in Taiwan to deal with the U.N. bid referendum carefully, warning that it would have serious consequences on Taiwan if the referendum were to fail.

    Such an outcome would be interpreted by Beijing as signifying Taiwan's people have no desire to join the United Nations, a situation which could shut Taiwan out of the world body for good, Lu said.

    To reduce the opposition's objections to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -initiated referendum, Lu suggested that the two sides hold consultations to seek to integrate the referendum with the other one promoted by the Kuomintang (KMT) on regaining U.N. membership under the name "Republic of China" or any other "suitable" name.

    She proposed that the referendum question be asked in neutral wording, such as "do you agree that our country should become a member of the United Nations as soon as possible?"

    Lu made the remarks while speaking with reporters on her flight to the Marshall Islands via the U.S. territory of Guam.

    She also touched on China's plan to launch a new air route near the imaginary median line in the Taiwan Strait, saying the U.S. government is highly concerned by the plan in light of its serious threat to cross-strait security.

    Lu said Washington thinks China has been very disrespectful to Taiwan by refusing to negotiate with Taipei before registering the new route with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) , and believed that the U.S. would not sit idly by if Beijing goes ahead and inaugurates the route.

    She also noted that with Guam taking on increasing strategic importance as tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. government is planning to relocate its Marine Corps units in Okinawa to Guam.

    In line with the relocation plan, the United States expects Taiwan to invest in projects aimed at enhancing the infrastructure of Guam and help train talent in the service sector, she said.

    The vice president arrived in the Marshall Islands Tuesday morning and was greeted at the airport by Marshall Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs Tony de Brum and a large group of Taiwanese expatriates in the Pacific nation.

    Lu will also visit Nauru to attend the country's 40th National Day celebration and visit the Solomon Islands before returning to Taiwan Feb. 2.

(By Wen Kuei-hsiang and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/ls